THESE are the horrific injuries suffered by pensioner Angela Mayger at the hands of brutal thugs who beat her on her doorstep with her own walking stick.

Mrs Mayger, 73, was left black and blue with concussion, severe bruising and two black eyes when one of the two men involved hit her twice around the head with the stick and punched her in the face as they forced their way into her home.

But she said at her home in East Yorkshire that she felt lucky the assault was not worse.

“I felt like I had been battered,” said Mrs Mayger. “It sounds silly, but my legs were quivering, although I think I must have been quite tough.

“I was very frightened. I was in shock after it happened, which I think could have been a good thing, but I am feeling all right now. I just have this terrible look around my eyes. My face looks like a mess, but I am fortunate really.”

The attack came when Angela opened to the door to the thugs who were posing as routine callers.

This is an absolutely appalling attack on a defenceless, vulnerable lady.

Tory MP Priti Patel

Police had previously warned of an increase in crime against the elderly leading to calls for tougher penalties for violent criminals.

Tory MP Priti Patel said last night: “This is an absolutely appalling attack on a defenceless, vulnerable lady.

“It is inconceivable that young people would do this to an elderly person, and these individuals have to be prosecuted with the full force of the law.

“They should receive a punishment that is fitting to the harm and distress they have caused this lady.”

Angela, who has been given a panic alarm by Humberside Police, assumed she was “safe in her own home” before the attack.

She had only just moved to the village of Kilham, near Driffield, and said she has been touched by support from the community.

“Everyone has been absolutely fantastic since this happened and I can’t praise the police enough,” she said.

Detective Sergeant Emma Heatley of Humberside Police said: “We will now be carrying out extra high-visibility patrols to reassure people because crimes like these have an impact on the community. We’d ask people to keep an eye out for their neighbours. People should keep their door locked, they should always ask for identification when someone calls and, if in doubt, they should make a phone call.”

Richard Miley, 22, and Gary Smith, 19, both from Kilham, have been charged in relation to the attack and were remanded in custody this week.